Acrylic acid derivatives of perfluoroalkyl alcohols (e.g., CF3(CF2)7CH2CH2OCOCH═CH2) are used in large amounts as monomers for synthesizing water- and oil-repellent for textile. Moreover, perfluoroalkyl alcohols serving as starting material of the acrylic acid derivative are widely used as surfactants, etc.
[Patent Document 1] JP-B-63-22237
However, it has been recently reported that perfluorooctanoic acid having eight carbon atoms or perfluorocarboxylic acids having more than eight carbon atoms have adverse effect on the environment, because they are hardly degradability and having high bioaccumulation potential, and may exhibit toxicity to organisms. Among these compounds, those containing a perfluoroalkyl group having eight or more carbon atoms are suggested to be possibly converted to perfluorooctanoic acid or perfluorocarboxylic acids having more than eight carbon atoms by biodegradation or chemical degradation in the environment, and there is concern that it will be difficult to produce and use those compounds for the future. However, compounds containing a perfluoroalkyl group having six or less carbon atoms are said to have low bioaccumulation potential.